Effect of Calcium Hardness on Channel, Blue, and Channel x Blue Catfish Hybrids
The aquifer that supplies water to most channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) hatcheries in the Yazoo Basin of the Mississippi River flood plain in west-central Mississippi has a hardness of <10 mg/liter as CaCO3. Calcium hardness <10 mg/liter is known to reduce survival and growth of catfish sac and swim-up fry, but effects of low hardness on fingerling growth and survival have not been determined. We examined the effects of hardness (5 mg/liter and 67 mg/liter as CaCO3) on survival and growth of fingerling (2.0-3.2 g initial weight) channel catfish (USDA-103 line), blue catfish (I...
